


No Better Place Than Yesterday

by Ellisaed



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: AOT AU, AU, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anime, Death, M/M, SNK AU, Sad, aot - Freeform, ereri, riren - Freeform, snk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-10-22
Packaged: 2018-06-08 12:15:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6854281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellisaed/pseuds/Ellisaed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every night, the same. Eren Jäger is dead, and Levi is there as it happens.</p><p>Levi Ackerman is haunted by a recurring dream, and is determined to change the reality of his unconsciousness. </p><p>Is it the delusions of unease, or Fate waiting to be sealed? How can he stop something only he can see, in the darkness of his mind?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is a fic I've been mulling over for a LONG while but finally decided to start because I thought of a good title name (literally, sometimes that's all it takes). This story is set in modern day Tokyo, but is not a reincarnation AU just a modern day AU. I thought of this entire storylines plot on a rainy day, so a lot of it involves rainy scenes coincidentally, but there is a good amount of fluff too. I hope you enjoy!

The mist of the rain was gentle, softer than a shower spray, and warm like summer dew. It obscured his vision, hazing in his eyes and behind his dark, wet hair. There were multiple cars at the intersection to his right, stopped at the red light. There were figures standing at the edge of the corner of the sidewalk, waiting for traffic to clear.

Then there was Eren, running toward the road, like he sometimes did absentmindedly.

The crosswalk sign on the opposite side of the street blinked white, and the chime rung safely. But it was not safe.

Eren's feet did not slow, and he had every right to do so. But the misty rain made his black school uniform blend with the overcast grey of the early morning, relatively difficult to distinguish. Likewise, the teenager was not focusing on the eyes of the people around him, or the eyes of the driver of the car turning the corner. His eyes were frozen on the man who stepped out of his car.

Eren smiled at the sight of the man, despite himself. That sideways, crooked smile that made his green eyes light up like an eager flame. Maybe it was because Levi had always hated the rain.

"Eren!" A woman's voice called the name, and an echo answered it. "Eren!"

The second exclamation seemed to come from his own mouth, more desperate, filled with longing.

But Eren did not hear it. Instead, he heard tires screech, and turned his head to meet the glaring white of incoming headlights.

The time was 10:25 am. 

* * *

 

"Eren - "

The name left his lungs like a foreign soul rushing out of his body, as if some dark hand took him by the chest and crushed it from him. Reflexively, instinctively, he coughed and blinked, hands finding his face as if to ensure he was still present. At the dampness that met his palms, he swore he really had just been standing out in the rain, he really had stared at the face of the young man, eyes locked on him and grinning. _Again_.

Levi Ackerman, a man of reason and control, steadied his breaths and mentally forced his body to comply to calm. He could feel the sheets beneath him were damp with sweat, and he pushed himself upwards to sitting once he felt the readiness to do so. Once he stopped trembling.

Slowly, he chanced his eyes over his bare shoulder and was comforted by the sight. For once, the kid had not been disturbed by his night terror, the brunette still sprawled asleep, drooling a little onto his pillow and tangled in the bedsheets. Levi sensed a smile, but it did not happen physically.

Reaching to the nightstand, Levi opened the top drawer to retrieve the small notebook he kept inside. He flipped the pages quietly, turning to the back cover. He added another tally mark with his pencil, and counted them, again, like he did every morning. _Shit_.

Three groups of five, with two lonely lines. Seventeen. The seventeenth occurrence of the exact same nightmare. Granted, the first few times it had happened Levi had not bothered even a second thought of it. But now, doubts swirled around, mixed with this unmistakable, unshakable dread. Who the hell would even entertain the thought like the one he had? Levi knew he was no mystic, no believer of fate or any of that sort of hippie crap. But this ... this was different. It was a feeling too real to ignore. It was getting eerie. Now, the nightmare which had before only been a small twinge to his side was a heavy weight sitting on his shoulders. Now it followed him, slowed him down, tortured his thoughts. It grew more and more vivid as the nights went on, gathering dread like a threatening storm.

Every night, he witnessed Eren Jäger's death, over and over again. And every night, it was becoming clearer and clearer and harder to deny. It took all of Levi's willpower to deny it to be true.

At a gentle touch on his forearm, Levi hid his notebook quickly away. He turned, eyebrows raising as he looked down on the kid at his side.

Eren Jäger squinted up at him, one eye closed and half-smiling as his hand found Levi's.

"G'morning." He mumbled.

"Good morning."

"... what time is it?'

"6:35. You have an hour before school."

"No nightmares tonight?"

Levi hesitated, but shook his head. "No."

The man's dark, quiet eyes betrayed him, but Eren smiled and nodded back.

With a gentle sigh, the dread on Levi's shoulders grew a little heavier.


	2. May 17th 9:36 a.m. - 4 Days Remain

Levi Ackerman was 22, an intern at an up-and-coming law firm in the heart of downtown Tokyo. He had taken the position last year, and had bought an apartment soon afterwards a short distance from his workplace. The building was small, and living on an upper level meant he could have the peace and quiet he often needed after a long day. His balcony overlooked the city, facing the west and providing him a sunset view at dusk, a fine place to drink tea and muse. However, the tranquility only lasted three days. 

Eren Jäger was a 3rd year high school student at Kama High, member of the football team who aspired to study to become a biologist - that, or a veterinarian. He was also a member of the honour band and played the trumpet, an instrument he certainly was not well versed with (as he was often reminded by those who threw things at him during band class). That was why every day after school, he would practice while walking his usual route home, directly past Levi Ackerman's apartment complex, blaring and squawking into the quiet of the evening. 

It was simple to assume what occurred after a few days of similar incidences, and Levi had no regrets of his actions. Who can blame him for pouring his tea over the edge of his balcony onto the kids head, ruining his horn as a bonus, and he strolled by? 

Then of course, the brat had gotten upset (which Levi believed was a little uncalled for considering the torture his own ears had endured for so long) and had complied to Eren's angry outburst and demands of using his shower to get clean before walking home. 

Sucking up his contempt and unease at the thought of a sticky, sweaty teenager tracking dirt around his home, Levi had let him in. And he let him in the next day, when Eren brought by a box of tea to apologize for his torturous rehearsal sessions. And the next day, when Eren insisted Levi could help with his civics homework since he was "practically a lawyer". And the next day, when Eren claimed he was far too famished to walk any further, sharing dinner with Levi. And the next day, when it had been a raging thunderstorm and the kid looked pitiful as a wet puppy. 

It was that day that Levi hadn't shooed him home after dark. On the contrary, they had kept each other fairly satisfied late into the night. 

It had never been Levi's intention to date a high schooler, but it had not been something he had avoided either. The kid was a brat, coming from a broken home with a father working worldwide as an outreach doctor and a mother who worked day shifts and night shifts to pay the bills. Eren often talked of his loneliness, his sense of separation at home and school. Levi related - hell, he hadn't even had parents, just two humans who made a bad choice. But it was not their similarities that made them a match, but their differences that proved compatibility. 

Levi had found himself wondering, once and only once while he lie with the kid on his first night sleeping with him in his bed, how the hell this had managed to happen. Was it chance, all these aligning events? What if he had not bought a balcony apartment? What if Eren took an alternate route home from school? What if Levi had ignored him instead of growing fed up? What if Eren had not been so insistent on being polite in return? 

With an endless list of variables, it was an impossible task to resolve. Levi wanted to believe this had all been up to chance, to the whimsical winds of happenstance, but he could not. 

And that was why his nightmare vexed him so. Because if all those unclear, coincidental events had come together in their favour, how was Levi to deny the startling clarity of the reality of Eren's death in his dreams? 

* * *

"Oi, Levi!"

Levi barely flinched at the exclamation of his name, though he was startled out of his absentminded thoughts. With his cheek resting on his palm he turned in his office chair slightly in the direction of the sound, meeting the wide eyes of his co-worker Hanji Zöe in her cubicle next to his. Her big brown eyes were bigger than usual, leaning backwards in her chair and pointing not-so-subtly toward something beyond Levi's shoulders. 

"Ackerman."

Levi did not need to move to know it was the voice of his boss, Erwin Smith, standing above his desk, but he did so out of respect, standing quickly at attention before him whilst hearing Hanji's muffled laughter behind him. 

"Yes sir."

"Here are the consent forms I need you to type up and send out today, case number forty-six and seven." A manila envelope of considerable width was placed in his hands, "Send them to the board, and if they ask for any verification numbers just CC the emails to me."

Levi nodded, cursing silently to himself as a yawn inadvertently escaped him just as he opened his mouth, his reply coming out muffled, "... yes sir." 

The blonde man raised his eyebrows slightly at him, the crisp edges of his suit matching the tone of his voice. "When did you clock in today?"

"Ah ... 7:45 sir. I was running behind, traffic was not in my favour. My apologies sir."

"He hasn't been getting sleep, sir!" Hanji called from her desk, "Keeps zoning off beside me, probably cause he's not getting a wink of decent rest - "

Levi turned to glare at her with eyes darker than the bruise he'd give her if she didn't shut up, but Erwin chuckled and interrupted her.

"Zöe, you've said that every day this week - "

"It's true! Ask him!"

"Is this true?"

Levi found himself in scrutiny of Erwin's blue eyes, and it more than made him fidget inside. He grabbed the collar of his button down and wrenched it from his neck a bit, relieving the heat that rose up there. "It's just mild insomnia sir. I've had it since I was young. I have not let it interfere with my work, and I will continue to ensure it will not. I promise, sir."

Erwin, who had built his relationship with Levi based on trust from his first day at work, nodded and smiled with the same sense of belief. "Alright. I'll be sure to ensure it does not."

Levi nodded, turning to sit again at his desk as his boss strolled back into his office. 

"Hey Hanji?" He called, looking her way. 

"Hmm?" The woman replied, leaning back in her chair again to see him - and receiving a stapler to the face, causing her to tumble to the floor. " _Ow_!"

"The next time you tattle on me, it'll be the fax machine to your blockhead."

"... you'd better stop falling asleep at work or else it'll be your sorry ass outside this building!"

Levi hated that she was right. Though she still lie on her back on the floor, a red mark streaking her forehead, she looked at him with genuine concern. 

"You can tell me what's wrong, you know. It'll probably stop me from telling Erwin too. You're way gloomier than usual, even he can see it."

"It's ... nothing that can be helped." Levi whispered back. 

"When you decide to tell someone ... I'll be here, ok?"

Levi nodded, staring at the envelope in his hands and giving a sigh as he forced his fatigue out of his mind, tearing it open to get to work. 

 


	3. May 17th 6:34 p.m. - 4 Days Remain

"What are you doing tonight?"

"Levi-San is going to help me with the arithmetic sheet Petra Sensei gave out on Monday, since it's due tomorrow."

"I finished that on Monday night!"

"Well you aren't terrible at math, are you?"

"You aren't either! You just want an excuse to see Levi-San!"

"I do not -"

"You do too!"

Eren gave Armin a playful shove off the sidewalk, and the boy shrieked and quickly scampered back on by his friends side, eyes squeezed tightly as he grabbed Eren's sleeve.

"You know I hate it when you do that!" He pouted, "It's not safe -"

"Ah, you're fine!"

"What about you? You're my friend - and one of my only friends - "

"That's a lie - "

"My best friend, and I don't want you to get hurt!" Armin protested, keeping pace while reaching up to tie his blond hair back into a small ponytail. It was true, Eren having known him since before grade school. He was quiet, timid, but the kindest and one of the smartest kids in their entire high school - Eren knew he owed a lot of his good grades to him.

"I won't get hurt." Eren challenged, "I've got killer reflexes, didn't you see me in P.E. today? I dodged those balls like bullets!"

Eren demonstrated his ducking skills, causing Armin to laugh.

"You're gonna get hit by a car one of these days, that's what happened to my neighbours puppy."

"Well, luckily for you I'm not a puppy -"

"I'd beg to differ -"

"And besides, there aren't any cars for ages at this time of day!"

Eren jogged out into the centre of the small street, looking up to see the clouds in the distance of the west shaded pink and purple in the May sunset. He had been unusually happy as of late, even his mother had taken note of it. What else was he to do? Being in-admittedly smitten with someone was something his fair cheeks couldn't seem to hide. Eren had never had a girlfriend (besides for week-long grade school crushes) let alone a boyfriend, let alone an intelligent, older, well-dressed and handsome man for a boyfriend.

It was all so new and he was always curious. It was a wonderful, freeing feeling, one he had seldom felt coming from his past life: broken family ties, parents who fought constantly, living from one payday to the next, being less than average in his studies and attending summer school three years in a row. It was not easy on him, physically or mentally, and it gave him no motivation.

This year, he had almost settled on giving in to being a dropout - this he had brought up to Levi, on the night it had thunderstormed. All of his dark, gloomy thoughts had surfaced in the downpour that day, and admitting that had let him receive a strike across the cheek from the man.

And then, moments later, a soft, careful kiss on his lips.

Levi had given him something to hang on to. Something that let the light in, something that looked like it could be lived for. And that was a lot more than Eren thought he would ever have.

A breeze played with Eren's hair and he breathed in its warmth, smiling at the fact that Levi was at his place watching the same sun. Hopefully, he was thinking about him too.

Eren reached in his pocket to grab his phone, shooting Levi a text as heard heard Armin pipe up from the sidewalk.

"Pixis Sensei gave out the permission slips for our trip to the Edo-Tokyo Museum today in 3rd period! We are going to do a report on our findings too! Did you pick yours up?"

"Mmhm." Eren replied, not looking up or really realizing what Armin had said.

"... I didn't see you get one."

"Yep."

"Eren?"

"..."

"Eren!"

"Hmm?"

"Eren, watch out!"

Eren's eyes shot up fast, his senses overloaded all at once. A car horn blared from somewhere, and with it a shout of warning, his eyes were blinded by the glaring light of whiteness burning them. His feet could barely move fast enough, and he felt the collar of his school uniform being pulled violently backwards, chocking the wind from him, dragging him down to the hot cement below.

Eren panted stridently, feeling the tell-tale whoosh of a car as it passed him by only a mere centimetres from his body, still honking at him. He glanced behind his shoulder, seeing he had fallen on Armin, blue eyes wildly wide and winded just the same as he.

"... Eren ... are you alright?"

Eren nodded, feeling his body trembling in shock. His hand still clutched his phone, but he shoved it in his pocket as he rose, helping Armin back to his feet.

"You need to be more careful." Armin doted, matching Eren's tentative steps as they walked along the sidewalk again. "You were lucky the driver noticed you and slowed down."

Eren couldn't speak. There was a chill that coursed over his body, something eerie and cold that made his fingertips tingle and his stomach turn. It wasn't just fear that shook him up, but something worse. He could feel the scrapes on his elbows, and sighed.

Levi was going to be furious.

✧･: *✧･:*✧･: *✧･:*✧･: *✧･:*✧･: *✧･:*✧･: *✧･:*✧･: *✧･:*✧･: *✧･:*✧

The television was set to the nightly news, and the lady at the screen babbled on about politics and weather and the latest traffic updates. The sound was low and played in the background of the room, a few feet from the table where the young men sat, talking idly over dinner. One of them was bright, eating earnestly and speaking just the same. The other looked sleepy and picked at his food, speaking sotto voce but listening intently.

"We need to go somewhere together and get away! Get away from school and stupid work!"

"Yeah, and I'll get fired from stupid work."

Levi shoved his chopsticks into the boys open mouth, silencing him for a moment as he chewed on the rice; often it was the best way to make him stop talking, if only for a few seconds.

"We should go to a hot spring! I've seen advertisements on the trains -"

Levi shoved more food in his mouth, "Do you wanna pay for that?"

Eren shrugged, beginning to mumble a reply-

"Ah ah, chew with your mouth closed."

Eren closed his eyes and swallowed hard, "Some places offer overnight stays for only 5,000 yen! It would be fun!"

"Do you have the money?" Levi asked, knowing the answer full well.

Eren looked away, "I could get it - "

"So I'd have to pay."

"Um yeah, but it'd be worth it! Plus I've never been and I've heard so much about them and see them on TV all the time and they look so fun and I love baths and - "

"No."

"Please?"

Levi did not want to meet the boys eyes, knowing the look he was giving him. Those same sad green eyes that begged him to let him into his apartment those few weeks ago. Dammit. The kid was persuasive.

"No."

"Levi-San, please?" Eren softened his voice, chewing as Levi put more rice in his mouth to quiet him.

"... I'll think about it."

Eren leapt to his feet, letting out a shout of excitement - and, simultaneously like the child he was, breathed in a little too quickly, chocking on the rice in his mouth. No sooner did his jumps of joy turn into doubled over coughing, and just as quickly Levi was beside him patting his back and prodding a cup of water toward his lips. He eased the kid down again, gulping back the water with wide and teary eyes, and Levi scoffed.

"Calm down for once. You need to be more careful."

Eren set the glass down, coughing twice before speaking through a soft laugh, "Funny ... that's exactly what Armin said to me earlier when I almost got hit by a car!"

Like a blow to his gut, Levi's stomach sank. The blood left his face, but he felt a rush of heat scurry up his arms to his neck. His nightmare flashed before his eyes, the rainy street, the crooked smile on the kid's dumb face, the cries of panic as the inevitable struck - literally. Little to Levi's knowledge, his voice grew stern in a way he had never shown toward the kid.

"What?"

Eren, however, did not seem to notice as he continued, "Yeah, I was walking in the middle of the road because Armin was too scared to be on the road, and I said there were no cars but he said that his neighbours dog got hit by a car and I ignored him and then I was texting you and he started calling my name but I didn't realize he was trying to warn me or anything, I just thought he was being persistent, and then - "

"Shut up."

Then, the tone startled the kid from his state. His green eyes shot up, a quickness much similar to when he was almost made into a human pancake by the speeding vehicle earlier, catching Levi's own solemn stare from across the table.

"What?"

"Why are you doing that?"

Eren chuckled, "... doing what?"

"Telling me that you almost got hit by a car like its a fucking comedy sketch!"

There were a few moments of silence, and Eren blinked, realizing his error slowly.

"Levi-san ... I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean - "

"You could have been seriously hurt, or killed. That ... is not a joke." Levi let out a slow breath, his hands coming up to rest fingers on his temples, bracing his forehead as his elbow met the tabletop. His head pounded suddenly, and he closed his eyes tightly, seeing the images from his dreams swarm his mind. 

Sudden regret at his outburst crept in, just as he felt a hand resting on his shoulder. He opened one eye, seeing Eren looking at him with concern. Levi shook his head, reading the question in the boys eyes before he even had to say it aloud. 

"I'm fine. My boss just gave me a tough case today, and I've been ..."

"You haven't been sleeping well, have you?"

"... I should not have yelled like that." Levi admitted, placing his own hand atop Eren's. He changed the subject quickly, not wanting to concern the kid, "You should head home, before it gets any darker outside."

Eren glanced out the window and back, a pout finding his lips. "Aw, but I thought ... I thought I could stay here tonight. Please?"

Levi was taken off guard and was unable to avoid those sad green eyes that grovelled before him. Again, dammit. 

"Fine. But if you steal all of the covers on my bed again tonight, prepare to meet the floor face first come sunrise." 

Levi tousled the kids hair as he rose, pushing him a bit to the floor, and Eren giggled. 

"Aw, but they're so warm and they smell like you -!"

"First and final warning Jäger!"

"You're no fun!"


End file.
